Customs officials in Hong Kong have seized 26 tons of shark fins from an estimated 38,500 sharks classified as vulnerable and protected species — the biggest shipment ever to be intercepted in the region, according to a press release published May 6. This is more than double the amount of all fins seized in 31 […]
Tag: shark fins
Win! House Passes Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act
On November 20, the House of Representatives passed the Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act. The bill aims to make it illegal to sell, buy or possess shark fins or any product containing shark fins, except for certain dogfish fins. The bill was led by Representatives Gregorio Sablan and Michael McCaul. A previous law protected the […]
Petition: End the Shark Fin Trade in Peru!
The shark fin trade is one of the biggest threats to sharks. Although often villainized as a frightful predator that would kill humans at the first chance they get, sharks actually kill very few people a year. Last year in 2018, they killed four people worldwide. Yet, humans kill 100 million sharks every year! The […]
Canada becomes first G7 country to ban shark fin imports
It was on a family visit to Hong Kong that Kristyn Wong-Tam noticed her uncle – a well-regarded chef – was the only person at the table not touching a bowl of shark fin soup. When he explained how fins are hacked from struggling sharks, before their bodies are tossed back into the water, the […]
POLL: Should lawmakers pass legislation to end the trade in shark fins?
Canada’s a step closer to protecting some of the ocean’s most important predators with the introduction of legislation that would ban the trade of shark fins. While Canada banned shark finning in 1994, which involves removing sharks’ fins and throwing their bodies back while they’re still alive, fins can still be imported and the global […]
DNA test helps officials spot dodgy shark shipments
A multi-national research team has developed a rapid DNA identification method to help customs inspectors detect illegally traded wildlife products, beginning with sharks. The DNA testing protocol, published last month, detects nine of 12 commonly traded shark species quickly enough to enable officials to determine whether a shipment requires further inspection. These sharks have small […]
POLL: Should international shipping of shark fins be banned?
President Donald Trump has found himself in yet another controversy; for once, the focus is not on what came out of his mouth, but rather what he put in it. Over the weekend, Trump shared a dinner with Vietnamese leaders in Hanoi. According to reports, Trump was served a course of shark fin soup, which […]
POLL: Should there be a worldwide ban on the shark fin trade?
The ocean activist group Sea Shepherd says it has delivered armed Timor-Leste police on to a Chinese-owned fishing vessel in a dawn raid and is detaining the vessels for the police after it was found targeting sharks. Following a two-week hunt for the Pingtan Marine Enterprises fleet, the Sea Shepherd boat M/Y Ocean Warrior found […]